
MITRE Trust Chairman Professor James Nixon OBE.

2 of the first 3 orthopaedic surgeons in NI. Norman Martin and Professor Bob Wilson.

Jimmy Withers and his wife Helen. The Withers Orthopaedic Centre at MPH is named after him.
MITRE Trust Chairman Professor James Nixon OBE together with Dublin Orthopaedic Surgeons David Fitzpatrick and Esmond Fogarty have written a book on the development of orthopaedics in Ireland.
In the late 19th and early 20th century, orthopaedic surgery tended to be directed primarily towards the correction of deformities, caused by infection such as TB, or diseases such as rickets. In the 1940s and 1950s, Ireland had to deal with polio epidemics which caused many limb and spinal deformities requiring surgical correction.
As these problems became less prevalent and with the development of new techniques, more complex orthopaedic procedures were developed for the treatment of fractures, and arthritis, particularly of the hip and knee joints. Total hip replacement became one of the most successful procedures practiced in any field of surgery, and knee replacement is now equally so.
In the field of trauma, many surgical implants and external devices were developed to improve the outcome for injured patients and shorten their stay in hospital.
Orthopaedic surgery has changed beyond recognition since the second world war, and the level of illness and disability has improved enormously.
Copies of this book (price £45) can be purchased from Professor Nixon through BART or the MITRE Trust.

Orthopædica Hibernica Book Cover